Doudna and Charpentier Publish CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing Method
June 28, 2012 · 21st Century
Biochemists Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier published a paper in Science demonstrating that the CRISPR-Cas9 system, derived from bacterial immune defenses, could be programmed with guide RNA to cut specific DNA sequences. Their team showed that a single synthetic guide RNA could direct the Cas9 enzyme to any target site in a genome, enabling precise, low-cost gene editing. The technique rapidly spread across laboratories worldwide, accelerating research in agriculture, disease treatment, and developmental biology. Doudna and Charpentier received the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Key Figures
Jennifer DoudnaEmmanuelle Charpentier
Locations
University of California, Berkeley
Topics
Nobel Prizemolecular biologygene editingCRISPR-Cas9bacterial immunitybiotechnology
Connected Events — 5 Connections
CRISPR-based diagnostic tools were deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic Introduction of the First COVID-19 Vaccines
Mendel's foundational genetics established the hereditary principles that gene editing manipulates Mendel Publishes His Paper on Genetics
CRISPR editing depends on understanding of DNA structure discovered by Watson, Crick, and Franklin Discovery of DNA Double Helix Structure
Understanding of transposable elements informed later gene editing approaches including CRISPR Barbara McClintock Discovers Transposable Elements
The 69 precision gene edits in the donor pig — including porcine endogenous retrovirus inactivation and human-compatible immune modifications — were enabled by the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology Doudna and Charpentier published twelve years earlier, without which the safety modifications required for living-patient xenotransplantation would not have been achievable at scale. Surgeons Perform Living Patient Pig Kidney Transplant
The Time Detectives® · Cadet Mission
Investigate This Event
Place it on the timeline. Earn points. Master the connections.
New to The Time Detectives?
Learn what it is →